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Brian Russell

Brian Russell

Contact Coach Brian:

(417) 844-6794

National “D” Coaching License

Brian was born in Joplin, MO although his parents were married and other siblings born in Torquay, England. Soccer was in his blood and generations of his family before him had grown up proudly playing in the European club system. Few within the United States were playing the beautiful game when Brian was a child, but at the age of 7, he decided that the ball, the field, the passion had to be something special. A few months later, Brian’s father registered him to play in a soccer club in Joplin and then, Brian discovered the amazing feeling of running after that ball, sharing it, dribbling it, scoring with it and his passion for the game of soccer took over his life.

Brian continued playing for clubs in Tulsa and Kansas City until his late teens and then went farther with the sport playing amateur league until his early 20’s throughout the Midwest. Brian began coaching during this time as his competitive playing ended. He continued to play recreationally into his 30’s when he suffered a terrible injury and could no longer play.

However the dream had just began for Brian, because he decided at that moment that quitting was not part of his life, and like many others players in his situation, he went on to become a dedicated full-time competitive soccer coach to share with the new generations of players his experience, passion, and knowledge of the game. There is no limit as to how much you can do from the line of a soccer field as a coach. This is what Brian has been doing for over 20 years in teaching the art of playing soccer to boys and girls of all ages.

After few years of coaching young kids in his 20’s, Brian realized in his 30’s that competitive soccer in U11 through High School was the ground where he could enjoy a new face of coaching while training many players for the road to find scholarships to play in college. Brian has had the incredible satisfaction and accomplishment of sending many of his former players to college on soccer scholarships to D1-D2-D3 and JUCO programs throughout the country — last count was over 26 local players within the past 10 years, and many others he has trained in the St. Louis club system. Today Brian has been able to develop a unique knowledge and experience with college recruiting, understanding very well that the ultimate goal of many players in soccer clubs it is to finance their college education through soccer.

We can not help but mentioning another of Brian’s successes as a coach, when one of his local Springfield girls teams won the second place in the Missouri State Cup, becoming the only girls soccer team from Springfield to achieve such an honor.

As a father of two kids, Brian coached them during the early years locally, and continued his involvement with his kids in the Saint Louis club systems of Busch SC, Scott Gallagher SC and the merger now called St. Louis Scott Gallagher SC. It was 15 years ago, when he had the great opportunity to meet and learn from two great teachers, Tommy Howe and Tim Walters. Through their teaching, Brian was intensely exposed to the Magic of the game, the South American style of playing, where the ball becomes more like a poem and less a running object and his days of the juego bonito (“pretty game”) began.

Through all the years of multiple experiences with the game of soccer, from playing to coaching, Brian also strove to improve the organization of the game in Springfield. Brian served multiple three-year terms and as a VP to the Board of Lake Country Soccer, back when it was privately owned.

Coaching, teaching and learning the sport of soccer has not stopped for Brian and now he has found a place in our organization, bringing not only his experience as a great coach, but offering to the Magic Soccer Club’s families the road to secure a place in college for anyone who has the potential to dream it is possible. He has built a recruiting network amongst many college programs at various levels, and has built the trust of those programs to refer only talented players that will improve their college program.

As a last word and last goal, Brian has sent his own kids on soccer scholarships to D1 programs at Rice University (Houston, Texas), Tulsa University (Tulsa, OK.), Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY) , and his youngest who still plays for the nationally ranked top 10 Rollins College D2 program in Florida which played for the national title just 2 seasons ago.